


All These Illusions Just Take Us Too Long

by Imogen_LeFay



Series: Seblaine Week 2020 [5]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dalton Academy, Day 6: Dalton, Idiots in Love, M/M, Season 2 AU, Seblaine Week 2020, The Gap Attack, Unrequited Kurt Hummel/Blaine Anderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25326085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imogen_LeFay/pseuds/Imogen_LeFay
Summary: Season 2 AU. The Warblers are preparing for Regionals, while New Directions play out their various telenovela plots. Between trying to look like he knows what he’s doing, and somehow staying on top of whatever game he and Sebastian pretend to not be playing, Blaine has a bit of a hard time keeping up. With Valentine’s Day looming, it’ll be a miracle if this doesn’t end in complete disaster.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Sebastian Smythe
Series: Seblaine Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828807
Comments: 11
Kudos: 101
Collections: Seblaine Week 2020





	All These Illusions Just Take Us Too Long

**Author's Note:**

> So, here’s what you missed on Canon Divergence:  
> Season 2 AU. Sebastian went to Dalton in his and Blaine’s freshman year. At the beginning of Season 2, Sebastian was sent off to Paris in hopes that his grandfather might rein him in. Spoiler: it was a disaster. Meanwhile, things at McKinley and Dalton proceed more or less as they did in canon until the Christmas episode, after which Sebastian makes his triumphant return to the Warblers’ New Years party. So now, Sebastian, Blaine and Kurt all attend Dalton at the same time, and Valentine’s Day is coming up.  
> Also, don’t ask the Warblers about the deal with Blaine and Sebastian. Just, don’t.  
> And that’s what you missed on Canon Divergence.
> 
> Title from When I Get You Alone, because of course it is.
> 
> This is absolutely part of my new favorite thing, Sebastian meeting Blaine in season 2 with all his confidence intact, and nothing stopping Blaine from giving into the draw between them. So this is probably my favorite this week.  
> (And side note, while writing I watched a few season 2 clips, mostly "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Misery", and damn, Kurt is 180° changed between them and during "Misery" just so over the damn thing, it's funny. Until you remember that's the episode Blaine falls in love, and it starts with his future boyfriend spending a whole performance acting like Blaine is the most annoying thing ever. So just saying, bring in Mr. Smythe to make it all better, please.)

* * *

Sebastian was leaning back in his armchair, watching. The rest of the Warblers were hanging around the room, some playing chess, some pretending to do any work. The new kid was sitting at the edge of one of the leather couches and looked like he’d jump to his feet at the slightest signal.

It was the opposite of subtle, and frankly, a bit ridiculous. He was sure all other Dalton students knew exactly what was coming. Their impromptu performances were usually an open secret, and even if they weren’t, most of the Warblers had no idea what a poker face was, or how to use it.

A ridiculous group, and he’d bite his tongue off before admitting he’d missed them. Then again, he never would have expected he’d ever get to the point where he’d ask his father to let him come back from his beloved Paris to Nowhere, Ohio. It really had been a strange year.

Although Ohio did have a few perks.

As if on cue, the Warblers started harmonizing. With every line, more joined in, until finally, someone ceremoniously opened the doors to the Commons to make way for the entrance of the one, the only, Blaine Anderson.

Sebastian wasn’t usually the type to let others have the spotlight. When he entered a group, he did it with the intention to lead. He liked to tell himself it was a Smythe trait, one of the reasons he and his father clashed again and again.

But when it came to Blaine, all bets were off. Sebastian couldn’t even quite explain what it was about him, even as he watched Blaine moving around the room, singing a Destiny’s Child song, passionately rebuking an imaginary lover for wasting his money. It should by all means be ridiculous, but it wasn’t. As he joined the harmonizing, Sebastian felt confirmed in his continued push for Blaine to be their lead soloist. Not that he didn’t trust his own charisma and ability, but there was just something about Blaine, especially when performing. Nobody could resist being carried away when watching him.

Certainly not the new kid.

Sebastian barely contained a sneer as he watched Blaine bow down, his face way too close to his ardent admirer’s, before pulling away to jump on top of the sofa. The new kid was looking up at Blaine like a lost puppy, just as usual. With anyone else, Sebastian would have considered spraying them with cold water to calm them down. But that kid didn’t even seem to care much for those moves, or even that ass, but was mooning over Blaine as if he was a Disney character. And Sebastian got that part, sure. It just seemed to be such a waste to ignore the rest of the package.

This was one of his favorite versions of Blaine, light sweat on his forehead, a few curls threatening to break lose, his eyes sparkling, his cheeks lightly flushed. It reminded him of last year, stolen moments, just to blow off steam, Blaine gasping his name…

But no, that was over. Blaine had been very clear about that at New Year’s, and if Sebastian had known that kiss at midnight would be it, he certainly would have dragged it out a bit longer. But Blaine was apparently in the market for a boyfriend now, and, well… even he had to admit that his name wasn’t exactly the first that came to mind when thinking of a relationship.

He was _not_ bitter. Or at least not bitter enough to not appreciate the spectacle that was Blaine performing.

They finished the song, and through some stroke of luck, Blaine ended up right in front of him. He had a tendency to do that.

“Guys, I’d say we’re ready for Regionals,” Blaine announced, turning towards the rest of the Warblers, who agreed with the enthusiasm of a bunch of children being promised ice cream.

And once more, Sebastian was the one who had to burst the bubble.

“Absolutely not.”

Blaine turned immediately, looking at him in overdone if not completely fake outrage. “Excuse me?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but this was Blaine, so fine, he’d explain. “Look, you’re great on this song, big surprise there. But we’re going up against New Directions. Pretty much the only thing they have going for them is the Scrappy Underdog vibe. You really think we’ll score points with any jury if we show up as rich, spoiled private school prep boys whining about bills?”

“Oh.” Blaine frowned, but he nodded eventually. “Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t think of that.” He grinned, shrugging off the performance already. “It’s a good thing you’re back.”

“Tell me about it,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen videos of that sorry excuse for a choreography you showed at Sectionals.” He ignored both the protests from the other Warblers and the daggers the new kid had been glaring at him since he mentioned New Directions.

Blaine rolled his eyes and jabbed an elbow in his side. “See if I’ll miss you next time.”

Sebastian chuckled. Somehow, he wasn’t worried. Not that he planned on leaving any time soon. He’d actually missed Dalton.

Or maybe, he mused, as his friend turned around to ask Wes to weigh in on other Regionals ideas, he’d just missed that ass.

* * *

“It’s just unfair. Suddenly, everyone is expected to speak like they were born in France? This is ridiculous.”

Blaine nodded, trying to seem sympathetic, even as his friend rambled on. They were sitting in the Dalton common room, and technically, they were doing their homework. But Kurt seemed to be stuck on French. He clearly needed to vent, and listening to him was only being a good friend – even if he himself couldn’t completely weigh in, given that he was taking Spanish. Really, it was impressive enough that Kurt complained so rarely about the schoolwork. Blaine was very much aware that Dalton was a lot more demanding than most public schools. Without Wes helping him, he himself probably would have completely drowned after his transfer. Still, it was a bit strange how much more common the complaints about French had become since Sebastian had returned.

Of course, Blaine himself had complained that it wasn’t exactly fair that Sebastian took French, given that he was bilingual, had spent most of his childhood in France, and now the beginning of this schoolyear. He’d tried to appeal to Sebastian’s ambitious side, to challenge himself with a language he couldn’t speak yet, like Spanish. Just for Sebastian’s sake, of course. Not to add some eye candy to the class. Anyway, it hadn’t worked. Sebastian had smirked, asked if he was jealous of his grades or of his flirting with the teacher, and spent the next hour teasing him about it, partially in French. He had pretended to mind on principle, not because Sebastian speaking French definitely did things for him.

He caught himself quickly enough to hear the end of Kurt’s rant.

“…such an _asshole_.”

“Whoa!” Blaine looked at him out of wide eyes. “You can’t talk about your teacher like that.” He definitely heard worse, but it was still strange coming from Kurt.

His friend looked at him in annoyance. “Not the teacher. _Sebastian_.”

Ah, right. That particular minefield. Blaine usually tried to avoid it, but this time he hadn’t paid enough attention. For some reason, Kurt and Sebastian hated each other. It had come as a bit of a surprise to Blaine, really.

It had been a harsh disappointment when the school year started, and he couldn’t find hide or hair of Sebastian. The rumor had trickled down slowly, that he’d gotten in some sort of trouble over the vacation and in response, his father had shipped him off to his maternal grandparents back in Paris. Blaine still remembered the bitter disappointment, especially about the fact that Sebastian hadn’t felt it necessary to tell him. He’d thought they were better friends than that, even ignoring everything else they’d been up to. Sure, they weren’t dating, but certainly close enough to hear about this. He had calmed down once they talked on skype, once he’d seen how upset Sebastian really was.

So maybe the loneliness of losing his best friend had been one of the factors that led him to take on a sort of mentorship role towards Kurt. Also, it felt nice to have someone look to him for guidance, like he actually knew what he was doing. And it was nice to have another close friend, an uncomplicated one at that.

It had become more complicated since Sebastian had showed up out of the blue at the Warblers’ New Year’s party, proclaiming his grandparents couldn’t rein him in either, and he was coming back to Dalton, effective immediately.

Blaine had been thrilled to have Sebastian back in his life. But Kurt seemed to swing between sulking, or lashing out at the newcomer, while Sebastian had become weirdly territorial.

And Blaine was stuck in the middle, wondering what the hell was going on. Unfortunately, unlike a room of Warblers, neither party seemed to listen when he tried to calm things down.

“I don’t really get what it is with you and Sebastian,” he said, trying to sound diplomatic. “But you know… he’s not that bad. I know, he can be really mean. But he can also be really great.”

Kurt snorted. “I highly doubt that,” he said.

“You know, I was a midyear transfer when I came to Dalton,” Blaine said – and stopped. He wasn’t quite sure how far into this he should go. It was still tough on him to talk about the events of the Sadie Hawkins dance. Most of the Warblers didn’t know. Even Sebastian had only gotten a bare bone version when asking about the scars on his back. Well, he definitely didn’t want to get too far into this right now. “I found it really hard to get used to everything,” he said instead. “It’s not that easy if you show up in the middle of the year and have to find your way. Sebastian is the one who recruited me to the Warblers. He just chatted me up after an impromptu performance, asked if I can sing.”

Kurt’s eyes narrowed, a dark expression washing over his face. “He was hitting on you.”

“Maybe,” Blaine said with a shrug, “but either way, he invited me to join the Warblers, and the rest is pretty much history.”

“You didn’t need him,” Kurt said, and there was a strange expression in his face that Blaine couldn’t quite place.

“The point is that even if you don’t get along, he’s not evil incarnate,” Blaine said. Them getting along at least somehow would at least make his life easier. “Seriously, though, you can’t be this shaken up about Sebastian alone. Are you sure there isn’t anything else?”

Kurt hesitated, before he sighed. Still, he seemed to be happy about something. “You’re right, of course. It’s Rachel and Finn…”

As Blaine listened the new tale of New Directions drama, he felt immensely relieved that there wasn’t nearly as much going on at Dalton. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure if Kurt was being serious or rebranding plots from a telenovela.

“Technically, Finn and Quinn. And Rachel.”

Blaine tried to pay attention as Kurt described the situation between his brother and two of his ex-girlfriends. He had to pay attention, really, as the more Kurt talked, the more complex it sounded, plus Blaine was pretty sure he missed a few pieces of key information. As he tried to focus, he noticed Sebastian entering the commons, and after some hesitation moving to a desk near the windows. Blaine was definitely not looking, but he was sure Sebastian was.

“And I know Finn is trying to be subtle, but he just isn’t. I know he’s taken interest in Quinn again. I mean, I’m barely home, and I have noticed. So it’s just a matter of time until Rachel does, and… I don’t know if she’ll be able to take it. Apparently New Directions were close enough to breaking when Santana told Rachel she slept with Finn, but Rachel was dating Jesse at the time, so she definitely overreacted. And yes, I know, running to Puck was the dumbest thing she could have done, but Quinn did a lot more, and now Finn is forgiving that-“

Yeah, Blaine was lost. New Directions were a lot like his Chemistry class, he missed two sentences and suddenly nothing made sense anymore.

“And I feel like I should warn Rachel, because I know how this works, she’ll find out right before some competition, and everything will be a mess,” Kurt said. “I know, I know. We’re up against them, and obviously I want to win, but they’re also my family, and I don’t want them broken.”

“Sure,” Blaine said, nodding. “I get that.”

At his desk, Sebastian stretched. Blaine was definitely still not looking.

Kurt’s eyes were still on him, wide-eyed, hopeful, as if he was waiting for something. Oh. He was looking for advice. It shouldn’t be surprising, considering this mentor role he stumbled into. This was how their friendship started – Kurt feeling lost, and Blaine trying to help, pretending he actually knew what he was doing. One of these days, that would bite him in the ass. Until then, he’d fake it as good as he could.

“I know this is complicated,” he said, trying to sound calm and convinced. “But I feel like you need to figure out what each of them wants. Finn is your step-brother now, and Rachel is your best friend. Of course, it’s complicated. But try seeing those relationships as separate. You should listen to each of them, and then try to advise them on what’s best for their situation. For Finn that might be thinking about why he wants to go back to someone familiar, and if he’s not maybe just dealing with his disappointment in an unhealthy manner. For Rachel it might be that she has to focus on herself for a while. Just tell them you’ll be there for them, no matter their decision.”

“I guess you’re right,” Kurt said with a sigh. “It’s all just such a mess. Still, I’m glad I can talk to you. I really don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.”

Blaine chuckled, looking down. He wasn’t quite sure that was deserved. Really, the mere idea of him knowing what he was doing was ridiculous. Then again, it was nice to be trusted by people.

“Oh my god, it’s so late!” Kurt suddenly exclaimed. “I have to go, or I won’t make it home for dinner.”

“Sure, um… I’ll see you tomorrow,” Blaine said. Kurt was on his feet already, waving to him as he hurried out of the commons. Blaine certainly didn’t envy him all the driving he had to do. He wondered why Kurt wasn’t boarding, but then he figured it might be a financial thing. It was better not to pry.

It certainly wasn’t something a mentor figure would do. And really, for someone having no idea what he was doing, he was pretty sure he nailed it this time.

His self-congratulary thoughts were rudely interrupted.

“You’re so full of shit, Anderson.”

So it had been Sebastian, and he had apparently given up his spot at the windows to grace Blaine with his presence.

“Excuse me?” Blaine asked, staring at his friend with raised eyebrows, with maybe a bit more outrage than necessary. Cooper would be proud.

“Try seeing those relationships separate?” Sebastian said. “Isn’t his old group basically a telenovela? And you think that piece of advice is going to help?”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Shut up, it’s great advice,” he said.

“I’d say only you could believe that,” Sebastian said, “but judging from that puppy dog look on the new kid’s face, you might have actually found someone to buy it…” Despite the harshness of his words, the delivery was smooth and humorous, so Blaine allowed it. Still, when Sebastian grabbed his coffee cup to take a sip, he slapped his wrist – there _were_ boundaries, even between them.

“And how exactly would that be your business?” Blaine asked, his voice nonchalant. “You know, if you want to give your input into New Directions drama, you probably should try to be a bit nicer to Kurt.”

Sebastian sighed. “Now, Blaine, I know how you get with your charity projects. And don’t we have enough dead birds to testify to that. And yes, I know, all the warblers would follow you blind into a volcano, or adopt a scrappy public school kid, if only you blink your fairy tale eyelashes at them. But no amount of exposure to your doe eyes is going to make me join in this kumbayah thing and hold hands with your little pet.”

Blaine blinked, trying to follow this particular train of thought. Eventually, he gave up on it.

“What’s your problem with him anyway?” he asked.

“You know he’s in love with you, right?” Sebastian said instead of answering. “It’s kind of funny. In a really sad, pathetic way.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve just been helping with some things. Nothing wrong about that.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Careful, he’s going to believe you know what you’re doing.”

“I _know_ what I’m doing!” Blaine protested.

“Sure,” Sebastian said, drawing out the vowel longer than necessary. “That’s how you come up with gems like _keep the relationships separate_.”

“You’re meaner since you’re back,” Blaine said. “Where’s that coming from? It can’t all be frustration about leaving Paris.” And maybe that was subtle angling for the real reason of his return, but who could blame him for that.

“Maybe I need to get laid,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “Any plans later?”

Blaine felt his face flush, even as he chuckled. “You know the rules, Smythe.”

“I hate the rules,” Sebastian muttered. “I liked it better before you brought in _rules_.”

“Well, that’s what you get for ditching me here to run off to Paris,” Blaine said, a small, triumphant grin on his face.

He tried to tell himself that the rules had been a good idea. In the long run, they’d protect him from getting hurt. It was a bit harder to hold onto them when he could feel Sebastian’s eyes on him, full of hunger and something else he couldn’t quite place. Sometimes, at practice, when Sebastian corrected his choreography, coming much closer than really necessary, Blaine considered throwing away the rules. After all, they had been fine last year…

Of course, he’d always known he had a romantic streak and wanted to experience everything with a boyfriend he was in love with. On the other hand, he was a teenage boy with hormones, and how could he decline exploring those with someone gorgeous, funny, who sometimes looked at him like he was something to be devoured? Sebastian never seemed to put much interest in romantics or relationships. It was an easy, uncomplicated way to explore what it would be like, to kiss, and to touch… they hadn’t technically slept together, but… well, that _was_ a technicality. But when Sebastian had left, Blaine unfortunately had time to think things through, and while he didn’t regret anything they’d done together, he’d decided that for anything further, he’d wait until he was in a relationship.

Sebastian hadn’t exactly been thrilled at New Year’s when Blaine had told him. He probably hadn’t believed it at first. Thinking back to that New Year’s kiss, Blaine had to admit, there had been mixed signals. But, as hard as it was to follow through with his rules – pun not intended – it was almost worth it to see Sebastian’s frustration at being denied.

It was another reason he was just a bit nicer to Kurt, spent a bit more time praising Thad for his council ideas, smiled at some of the freshman staring at him full of admiration. Sebastian would never admit to being jealous, but Blaine wasn’t blind. It was so obvious that he couldn’t help but hope that Sebastian might finally, _please_ , get a clue already.

“I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have left you here. I should have known you’d adopt a puppy or something. Didn’t think you’d do so from a rival choir, though…”

Blaine lightly swatted his arm. “Stop picking on him. Kurt’s a nice kid.” He just so stopped himself from wincing at his own choice of words. Maybe he _was_ overdoing it with this whole “mentor” personality…

Sebastian’s incredulity seemed to have a different cause though. “Nice? Yeah, to _you_. As far as anyone or anything else here is concerned, he’s a stuck-up prick who thinks he’s better than everything around him. Literally the only thing about Dalton he likes is you. If he had his way, he’d be back to his little island of misfit show choir rejects in a heartbeat, and not even his misguided crush on you would change that. He’d probably even try to drag you with him…”

Now, there might be a point somewhere in that rant. But it wasn’t quite what he honed in on.

“Are you jealous of Kurt?” he asked, not even trying to mask the grin on his face.

Sebastian answered with clearly faked outrage. “Excuse me? I don’t get jealous, especially not of the poster child of what straight people think a gay guy looks like.”

“So you say,” Blaine said with a shrug, “but you’re looking awfully green there, Smythe… green-eyed monster, was it? Who does that remind me of…?”

“Oh please,” Sebastian said. “I’d be more jealous of Jeremiah the Gap Guy. Who, by the way, still hasn’t given you his number the last time I checked…”

“Uhh, I could say the same thing about you,” Blaine said, “and when’s even the last time you saw Jeremiah the Gap Guy?”

“Last week at Scandals,” Sebastian shot back.

Blaine’s mouth dropped open. “How dare you?”

Sebastian looked back. “What? Going to Scandals?”

“Not that,” Blaine said, although it did sting just a little bit, “but you know the rules, Smythe. You can’t chat up Jeremiah the Gap Guy at Scandals!”

“Are you questioning my honor?” Sebastian asked, raising his eyebrows. “I saw him, I didn’t talk to him. He was busy chatting up some guy who definitely shouldn’t have been in there – and that’s coming from _me_.”

“Well, good,” Blaine huffed. “Cause you know, it wouldn’t count if you got his number at Scandals. Cause that would be cheating.”

It of course would have also been cheating to pursue Jeremiah the Gap Guy once Sebastian had left the country and therefore the contest. The competition had mostly been a joke, born from Blaine mentioning the cashier at the Gap was pretty cute. Sebastian had teased him forever, until he’d come up with the bet on who could get his number first. It had been just a fun little distraction, but it wouldn’t have been fair to continue once Sebastian was in Europe and out of the running. Or at least that’s how Blaine justified not making any steps in that direction.

“Maybe it’s time we revive the little competition,” Sebastian said. “And how about we make it interesting? Put in a little prize?”

“The prize would be Jeremiah the Gap Guy,” Blaine said. “I thought that was the point.”

Sebastian chuckled. Slowly, he put a hand to Blaine’s cheek, stroking the skin once, twice… “You know it’s never going to happen, right?”

It wasn’t as funny anymore, when Blaine wasn’t quite sure whether he was talking about Jeremiah the Gap Guy or _them_. For a second, he wanted to say something. But that wasn’t how they played this. Sincerity was implied at most.

Instead, he caught Sebastian’s hand in his, turned and softly let his breath fan over it. There was just the slightest shiver in Sebastian. Enough to know he’d scored a point in this strange game they were playing.

“Just you wait, Smythe. Just you wait.”

He winked, before getting up, abandoning his leftover coffee to Sebastian’s mercy. He could feel his friend’s eyes on him, and he couldn’t help but smirk. If he didn’t win this round, he at least managed to bring it to a tie.

And just maybe, he had found a new plan. 

* * *

“Simply put, I am in love!”

A bit much? Sure. Not true? Well, that could be argued. Slightly insincere? Yeah, fine. Effective? One look at Sebastian’s face said yes.

Oh, sure he tried to look calm, as if he couldn’t care less that Blaine had just tried to rally the Warblers into assisting him with a Valentine’s serenade. But it was there, in the clench of his jaw, that angry flash in his eyes. Sebastian was _not_ happy with this.

Neither was the council, no surprise there. Once more, they brought up the disaster of 1927, and declined the suggestion. No public performances for the Warblers. Of course, this was just as Blaine had planned. Sure, a serenade would have been grand and romantic, but it wasn’t the point. This wasn’t about finding love, but rather about reminding Sebastian that yes, Blaine had options and better things to do than sit around and wait till the day Sebastian got his life together.

Another point for Blaine.

And then, it all crashed down on top of him. Kurt, sweet, well-meaning Kurt started to argue his side, how the Warblers would benefit from public performances, how they should view it as a chance to prepare for Regionals… and suddenly, the hostility around him disappeared.

Before he knew it, the Warblers had voted with an overwhelming majority to support him in the performance. The council members had abstained from voting. But Sebastian? The bastard absolutely saw the second Blaine lost control of the group. Of course, he was all in favor of it.

The reasonable thing to do would be to stop this. He wouldn’t actually serenade Jeremiah the Gap Guy, right? But then again, If he stepped back now, Sebastian would never let him hear the end of it.

_In for a penny, in for a pound,_ a voice at the back of his head said. It sounded way too much like Cooper to be comforting.

“We’ll be performing at the Gap at the Westerville Mall,” he announced. “The guy I like is working there.”

Kurt’s face fell, probably in judgment – he wouldn’t be caught dead shopping at the Gap. But Blaine wasn’t going to argue that now. The Gap Attack, then. This would go down in Warbler history.

It would be fine.

* * *

It wasn’t fine. It wasn’t even on the same planet as fine. The smartest idea now would probably to bury in a bunker and not return to the light of day until he managed to buy a rocket ship that could carry him into the galaxies far, far away that “fine” had taken off to.

But yes, it would go down in Warbler history.

The performance… well, he still thought the performance was pretty good, but he didn’t need Sebastian’s commentary to know better than suggesting it for Regionals. Everything else was a complete catastrophe.

He was still sitting outside the Lima Mall, the coffee in his hand a reminder of how wrong the day had gone. Kurt had left, probably either too hurt or too embarrassed about the rejection. All the warblers had dispersed, and Blaine already dreaded the many questions that would wait at Dalton about how Jeremiah the Gap Guy had reacted to the serenade. And Sebastian…

“Usually I’d start with an ‘I told you so’, but you look miserable enough as it is.”

Blaine looked up, surprised. “What are you still doing here?” he asked.

Sebastian chuckled, and sat down beside him. “I noticed your ride left,” he said. “And since I doubt Jeremiah the Gap Guy will drive you anywhere at the moment…”

Blaine sighed, looking to his hands. Sebastian seemed oddly conciliatory, maybe because the whole mess somehow had turned out to be a point for him. Somehow. Really, he probably had been thoroughly amused at the whole thing. He’d even managed to make his steps and harmonies look sarcastic.

Blaine had hoped he wouldn’t bother to show. But that was part of it, wasn’t it? Neither of them backing down…

“This has to stop,” Blaine said. His voice was soft, but he knew Sebastian was paying attention. He always was, and maybe that was what started it all.

“What are you talking about?” The confusion in Sebastian’s voice was obvious.

With a sigh, Blaine turned towards him. “Jeremiah got fired,” he said. “He wasn’t out, and they fired him. Not to mention he wasn’t even interested in the first place, cause I’m too young for him.”

Sebastian snorted, apparently not particularly shocked. “Tell that to the guy he pulled at Scandals,” he said.

Blaine frowned, shaking his head. “This isn’t funny anymore,” he said. “And Kurt, too. He… he thought I wanted to serenade _him_. Like… he’s in love with me, apparently.” Not exactly what he’d said, but close enough that even Blaine finally understood it.

“I’ve literally been telling you since New Years,” Sebastian said.

“You think everyone’s in love with me,” Blaine replied, “and I thought you weren’t doing the ‘I told you so’.”

Sebastian sighed “Why is this such a big deal anyway?”

“Because he’s my friend.” Blaine said. “And also, I’ve apparently been leading him on for months.” He sighed, shaking his head. “He bought me coffee, and then he said we could be like When Harry Met Sally.”

Sebastian frowned. “They get together in the end.”

“I know,” Blaine said, rolling his eyes.

“So basically, his plan is to hang around you for years, until hopefully at some point he’ll wear you down enough to go out with him, probably complaining about being in the friend-zone the whole time?” Sebastian shuddered “Please tell me you shot that down at least.”

Blaine bit his lip, trying not to relive that moment in his head. “I told him I’m not interested, and that it’s not a ‘not right now’, just a no. He… didn’t take it too well.” It had been tempting to just go with it, make a joke and pretend that conversation had never happened. It would have been so easy. But he messed up enough.

“Well, at least something good came out of this,” Sebastian said, shrugging as if that made anything okay.

“Will you stop already?” Blaine asked. “Just… Look at this mess. I broke the heart of one of my best friends, I got someone fired… Sebastian, this has to stop!”

Sebastian frowned. “Okay, I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about, but stop making this into something it’s not. Breaking Kurt’s heart? Come on. He made up this idea of you as a white knight or something, it would have come crashing down on his head once he realized you don’t have all the answers. He’ll get over it. It happens. And as far as Jeremiah the Gap Guy is concerned… Well, we probably should come up with a new nickname. Maybe Jeremiah the start-up Guy. You do know he’s only at the Gap part-time, right? He has a real job, this isn’t the end of the world for him. And maybe he wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place if he wasn’t continuously hitting on teenagers. He’s twenty-five, he might want to start looking in his own age-group.”

Blaine stared at him, biting his lip. He’d spent the last hour thinking about all the horrible things he’d done, wondering how he’d be able to look at himself in the mirror. It seemed too easy to let go of that now, but Sebastian’s words sounded so reasonable…

“Besides,” his friend continued, “no matter how it all ended… you did mean well. So maybe just stop demonizing yourself? Yes, it was a mess, but that doesn’t make you a bad person.”

And that hit just to the center of it…

“Well, I don’t think I’m a good person,” he said, once more looking to the cup in his hands. “And I didn’t mean well. I… I didn’t do it because I was in love with Jeremiah. And I did lead Kurt on. I mean, I didn’t think he had feelings for me, but I was more… performative around him. That probably made him think I was interested.” His hands started shaking just a little bit, and it felt like alarms were going off in his brain, telling him to shut up, to save just a little bit of dignity. He ignored it. “I wanted to make you jealous. I thought if you thought I had options… that maybe you’d care.” He chuckled, the sound bitter in his mouth. “And even that didn’t work.”

There was a pause, and he didn’t dare to look up at Sebastian’s face, while his friend undoubtedly tried to find the words to – hopefully – let him down gently.

“It didn’t work because you’re just a bit too obvious,” Sebastian said instead. “And I thought… that’s what we do, right? We don’t back down, we keep raising the stakes… But yeah. Maybe this has gotten a bit out of hand.”

And then, Sebastian’s hand covered his. Surprised, Blaine looked up. Sebastian, too, seemed unable to meet his eyes, instead focusing on where their fingers interlaced now.

“I just don’t know what you want from me. I mean… I know I’m not exactly boyfriend material…”

Blaine shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. You could be, if you wanted to.”

Now, Sebastian looked up. “I… Wait… Wasn’t that what you were telling me on New Year’s? That you wouldn’t fool around with me anymore, cause you wanted to save that for a _boyfriend_?”

Blaine’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean I want someone else to be my boyfriend. I meant that I wanted you to be more, and if that wasn’t happening… then I couldn’t just keep pretending. I just… I didn’t want to be just a hook up to you.”

They were staring at each other, and to his surprise, he watched a wide grin forming on Sebastian’s face.

“So, we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble, huh?”

Blaine felt the blush rise to his face. “Wait… so you want to be my boyfriend?”

Instead of answering, Sebastian rolled his eyes, put a hand to his cheek and kissed him. It almost felt like coming home.

“Come on, Killer. Let’s get you back to Dalton. I think we have some boyfriend things to do.”

And well, Blaine thought as he followed Sebastian to his car, those _were_ the rules.

* * *

Sebastian was leaning back in his armchair, watching. Most of the Warblers were sitting in the commons, trying to study – as if they didn’t know what was coming. The new kid was sitting at a table, glaring at his homework. And then, slowly, the door opened with a creak, revealing, of course, the one, the only, Blaine Anderson. Sebastian looked up at him, raising an eyebrow and just for a moment, Blaine winked at him, before throwing a bunch of papers into the room, launching into song

_Oh yeah_.

The rest of the Warblers didn’t miss a beat, and soon the whole room was singing and dancing. Sebastian got up, joining them in the still too simple step combination. Blaine caught his eye, and grinned.

The new kid was sitting on one of the couches, rolling his eyes, as if he’d actually prefer his math homework over the warbler performance. Hell, he was even checking his watch. Not even Blaine’s contagious enthusiasm could move him. Then again, his wide-eyed adoration had taken quite a hit after Valentine’s, and broken down completely since he walked in on Blaine and Sebastian making out in an empty class room.

Blaine didn’t seem too perturbed by it. Maybe he was too distracted with having a boyfriend – and yeah, fine, those damn rules didn’t seem so bad now – or he assumed it was just a temporary change. Either way, as long as he wasn’t bothered by it, Sebastian saw no harm in indulging in a little bit of schadenfreude.

The song ended, and once more Blaine had timed it so that he stood right in front of Sebastian for the end. The grin on his face was pure joy at the performance, the spark in his eyes showed just the hint of a challenge.

“Well? Good enough for Regionals?” he asked.

And what was Sebastian to say to that?

Answering Blaine’s grin, he bowed forward, uttering the only applicable comment before bringing their lips together in a kiss that made half the Warblers swoon, and some shout at them to get a room.

“ _Flawless_.”


End file.
